Although GLIMS is an extremely useful tool, there persists definitions that need an urgent update.
I have been working with Chilean glaciers inventories for over 40 years and, as an example, GLIMS definition of rock glaciers (describing them as permafrost phenomena) is completely outdated. In Chile there are over 100 drill-holes through several rock glaciers, and all show an ice content of about 80% or more of ice; at the same time our inventories show actual transformations of debris covered glaciers into rock glaciers. All chilean rock glaciers (fully debris covered), explored in depth by drillings, are glaciogenic in origin and show visco-plastic flow (or, simply - there is no rock glaciers in Chile).
In addition, the IPCC 2013 definition of glacier creates a chaos. It says glacier originates from "compressed" snow. There are no such glaciers in Chile, all originate by the sintering of snow into ice, while mechanical compression is negligible. IACS (2011) definition of glacier is no better, it says glacier originate by "recrystallization" of snow.
How about glacier flow? Several recent definitions does not require ice to flow downhill (as required by GTOS, 2007, definition) to be a glacier. So, verglass is now a glacier?, much of it originates by recrystallization of snow.
Please! Lets agree on what a glacier is. How about a forum on the subject?
Best regards,
Cedomir Marangunic
GEOESTUDIOS
56-2-28711727
-----Mensaje original-----
De: Regine Hock [mailto:regine@gi.alaska.edu]
Enviado el: lunes, 01 de diciembre de 2014 19:14
Para: cryolist@cryolist.org
CC: Graham Cogley; Regine Hock
Asunto: [CRYOLIST] New version of Randolph Glacier Inventory RGI4.0 released
Dear colleagues - The Randolph Glacier Inventory Working Group of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) is pleased to announce the release of version 4.0 of the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI). The inventory and accompanying Technical Note can be downloaded from http://glims.org/RGI/index.html.
This is a significant update of version 3.2, which was described by Pfeffer et al. 2014 (Journal of Glaciology, 60(221), 522-537). Topographic attributes and full hypsometry have been added for nearly all glaciers, thanks to the work of Matthias Huss, Christian Kienholz and Andy Bliss. Large numbers of dates, and a smaller number of glacier names, have been added in several regions; in version 4.0, 94% (by area) of glaciers have dates or date ranges. There are numerous lesser corrections of glacier attributes, and although most glacier outlines are unchanged between RGI 3.2 and 4.0 there are new outlines in Bolivia and an extensively improved inventory of Alaska. Future releases are planned in the coming year.
With regards,
Working Group on the Randolph Glacier Inventory and Infrastructure for Glacier Monitoring, International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS).
http://www.cryosphericsciences.org/wg_randGlacierInv.html
Graham Cogley and Regine Hock (Co-chairs), Etienne Berthier, Andrew Bliss, Tobias Bolch, Koji Fujita, Alex Gardner, Matthias Huss, Georg Kaser, Christian Kienholz, Anil Kulkarni, Shiyin Liu, Christopher Nuth, Ben Marzeion, Takayuki Nuimura, Frank Paul, Valentina Radić, Bruce Raup, Akiko Sakai, Donghui Shangguan, Arun Shrestha
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Regine Hock
Geophysical Institute
University of Alaska
903 Koyukuk Dr.
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7320
ph: 907 - 474 7691
fax: 907 - 474 5882
regine@gi.alaska.edu
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